God cannot tempted, but Jesus was and we also shall be tempted more than once. This Tentatio (affliction) is not something God uses to drive us a way from self, but is our own selfish will because we are so much busy with ourselves. In case we would be more busy with the Will of God we would not be so much and so often suffering from our wrongdoing. Then we would also be more forthcoming to God His Will and would be more able, like Christ did not his own will, not to do our own will but being happy to do God’s Will.

In John Doberstein’s The Minister’s Prayerbook, he discusses Martin Luther’s understanding of the development of a theologian. Luther believed that the “right way to study theology” is anchored in the three rules set forth in Psalm 119: Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio. For Luther “Everything centers around the practice of meditation, for prayer prepares for it and its results are confirmed in the experience of conflict. For Luther, meditation is the key to the study of theology. No one can become a true theologian unless he learns theology through it” (Kleinig, “The Kindred Heart”, 142). The discussion that follows is taken directly from Doberstein and explores each of the three dimensions.

Oratio (prayer) is grounded in the Word of the Lord. Prayer is the voice of faith. That is to say, that prayer grows out of the Word of the Lord. “The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not…

The preacher his online presence is due to the fact that because his African descendants, 177 years after their ancestors, were fully emancipated on August 1, 1838, his people, are still enslaved mentally and spiritually, and he feels he is having an inspired Word and message to deliver to his people as well as for the world in a season where souls are ready to be harvested upon hearing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ preached unto them.

He asks coloured people to take back their birthright to the kingdom of God and of Christ, His Son, for the coloured people wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. [Ephesian 5:4]

He writes

The devil got to run when we speak the Word, viz., Jesus, say it again, Jesus, and say it again, Jesus. May God Almighty richly bless you. The Spirit of God gave me a Word which will set free whosoever believes from their Mental Enslavement and Sins Syndrome. (MESS) The inspired New Testament Word is:

“…Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: for as much as y know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers: But with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb without spot.” [1Peter1:17-19] {Blogging 201: Day 8 Assignment}

Mental Enslavement for sure is something we are all chained by. Wherever we live are minds are taken in by the place where we grew up and by the people who formed us and moulded in the being we are at present in this system of things. The ‘Mental Enslavement’ the pastor considers to be a legacy of slavery. For him it is

Caucasians, Asians, they too are divided by their enslavement of their spirit. It is not restricted to the African people. Neither is the Sins Syndrome as a legacy of Adam’s transgression restricted to black people. Perhaps worse, the white people took the innocent black people chained to their world of greed and of unconnectedness with nature. By the commerce of slavery many black people where taken away form their native place where their people were still connected with nature and lived in peaceful communities where there was a certain order of respect. That respect and family order was broken, the mind degraded unto that of an animal. The negro was made into a carnal man which had no rights and was considered as part of the animal world. Carnal white man saw in them an opportunity to enrich themselves and to have some element with whom they could have sexasmuch and how they wanted it. For many of them it was an element by which no sin could be done. And church looked at it and did nothing against it.

A European map of West Africa, 1736. Included is the archaic mapping designation of Negroland.

We may not forget they all are under the spell of the fall of man, but God did ask each individual to make up their own choice and to go away from that spell. God created the human beings with the possibility to think for themselves. Man has no excuse to point the finger to Adam and Eve. It is not because they sinned, we can not do different. If that would be so that would mean the Divine Creator created human beings who are not able to live according to the rules God gave them. Such a thing would make that God a very Cruel God.

It is true that even today there are lots of Christianpreachers who say man is incapable to do good or to do the Will of God, and therefore Jesus has to be God. They are mistaken and have become enslaved to their twisted mind or to the twisted mind of generations of theologians. Those people who call themselves scientists in the knowledge of God took a lot of time to study books of other theologians. Most of their time is spend to reading and studying books of other people of this world, instead of spending more time to reading the Word of God itself, given to mankind by the Book of books.

They and their followers have come enslaved to their minds which are taken in by human doctrines. That ‘Mental enslavement’ is the root cause of the current divisions among so many people, not only for African descendants.

The blogwriter thinks his people, due to years of conditioning, have become strangers one to the other, or at least some act as though they are because of their mindset. He should know all other races are also enslaved to their world which works as a magnet drawing them in all sorts of dreams and adventures.

When you look at this world you will see that man made a big mess of it. As such that Mental Enslavement and Sins Syndrome (MESS) fits clearly our big mess.

Living in this big mess perhaps also being caught by that Mess, we do have to know we can become liberated from any form of slavery. Some two thousand years ago a man was born who proofed that it was all lies that a man could not do the Will of God. That Nazarene Jew managed not to do his own will but humbled himself and gave himself totally to this God and His creatures. That son of man showed the world that each son of man is capable to come to God and do what God wants from him or her. Those who say Jesus is God, because no man is ever able to follow God from himself or herself, are telling lies. They are misleading people and are holding them back from the real God of gods, Who is the Only OneTrue God which all people should come to worship.

We are not a hopeless people, who are unable to become without further sinning. It is true that all of us sin but such a condition has not to continue for ever. For there is hope, hope in the very Christ, whose precious Blood washes away our sins the moment we repent and believe the Word of God from the heart. Such act of coming into believing in Christ, the son of God, will demand work. Then shall come the most important factor to break the chains of enslavement, namely the demand of repentance. When we do not come to see what we have done wrong or what we can do wrong we shall never be liberated. We do have to see what is wrong and what is the right way. Without recognising good and bad we shall not see the light nor become free citizens under Christ.

Know that it is the Word that will turn your life around so that you do not have to continue being a slave to sin. and to the devil. [Romans 6:7-23] If you have doubts about Christ, put your right hand on the region of your heart and say, Father in heaven, help my unbelief. Amen. I guarantee that God the Father will hear your prayer. Amen. {Blogging 201: Day 8 Assignment}

Jesus has become the slave who managed to liberate his fellow slaves. His death made an end to the curse of death. In him we are liberated and can put away the chains leading to death. After he had gone his apostles continued doing the work Jesus ordered them to do. Philip also came to bring people as the eunuch to God.

Philip in the awesome presence of the Most High God and under His Sovereignty did not sprinkle water on him, he did not pour water on his head, he did not duck him in the water three times, he did not baptize him in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, but rather, Philip baptized our Ethiopian brother in the name of the Lord Jesus, just as He was guided by the Holy Spirit to do at Samaria.
It is written, “…they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”[Acts 8:16, 2:] And for those who may have a problem with the parenthesis in this verse of scripture: Acts 2:38, says,

“Then Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Proof: Thus at the mouth of two genuine witnesses (the scriptures) baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus is established. Let us give Yahweh praise. {Blogging 201: Day 8 Assignment}

The highly placed person came into the faith and knew he had to do things. He was convinced that it was not enough to have been baptised, but that once having come into the faith the believer had to do works, like spreading the gospel and giving people hope.

Cush or Kush, an ancient African kingdom situated on the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara in what is now the Republic of Sudan.

Ethiopia was one of the great kingdoms of Africa, part of which is now called Abyssinia. It is frequently mentioned in Scripture under the name of Cush. But Cush comprehended a much larger region, including the southern part of Arabia, and even sometimes the countries adjacent to the Tigris and Euphrates. Ethiopia Proper lay south of Egypt, on the Nile, and was bounded north by Egypt, that is, by the cataracts near Syene; east by the Red Sea, and perhaps part by the Indian Ocean; south by unknown regions in the interior of Africa; and west by Lybia and the deserts. It comprehended the modern kingdoms of Nubia or Sennaar, and Abyssinia. The chief city in it was the ancient Meroe, situated on the island or tract of the same name, between the Nile and Ashtaborus, not far from the modern Shendi. (Robinson’s Calmet,)

The confidential officer, or counsellor of state, was a Jew, or at least a Jewish proselyte. It was customary for the Jews in foreign lands, as far as practicable, to attend the great feasts at Jerusalem. He had gone up to attend the Passover, and got fascinated by the new teachings of the followers of the Jew Jeshua and humiliated himself going down into the water to get baptised. The conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch is a milestone in the proclamation of the gospel which spread from Jerusalem. The fact that he rode in a chariot was a demonstration of his wealth and power. One would think he would not share his faith with lower people, but he did. The eunuch “went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). He went along taking care others also came into the faith, which could spread from Arabia and Egypt to the North of Africa.

All nations should come to see how that important man welcomed the opportunity of ‘emptying himself’ by going down to baptism. He rejoiced in his appreciation of how his Saviour had emptied himself to make it possible for the eunuch, a man who was excluded from the ‘congregation of the Lord’, to draw close to God, no longer being distanced from Jehovah God by sin.

We all may be connected with one or other ‘class’ or ‘profession’, but for god we are all the same and given the same opportunities to come to God. We only should react in the right way when we hear the call.

Like the eunuch we can take the knowledge of the greatness of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with us into our everyday lives that will provide a fitting contrast to the aspirations to greatness of those around. This can help us to follow his example of humility and rejoice that we might share the true greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ at his return to the earth.

In the meantime we may not sit still. We do have to do the works of faith. To get away from the ‘Sin Syndrome’ we have to work at our character. It will not come easy to step in the right direction and to always keep to the Word of God.

Like god in the past changed the mindset of many He is willing to change our mindset too. We should take time to see the links from the past as well as those with the future.

The past refers to Yahweh’s Visitation with our African brother (1) and when He miraculously changed His mindset, and moved Him away from those aspects of our Fathers’ tradition which are not in sync neither Yahweh nor His Word. {Blogging 201: Day 8 Assignment}

The pastor ends

Make it a habit to trace our Biblical history and tradition back to Acts 8:26-39, and believe the Word and teach your children all the Word builds up our confidence, gives us a sense of belonging, a high self worth, and a strong feeling that we are guided by it (the Word), in our journey along a path in Christ— that has continuity. O let us give God Praise. Amen. {Blogging 201: Day 8 Assignment}

Perhaps one can bring as an excuse that the way of man is not in himself, but we must know that each of us is responsible for his own actions and his own thinking and his reaction on it.

‘Hautain’ man= arrogantly superior and disdainful haughty man thinks him superior to God’s Word and dares to frighten people that they would not be able to understand the Bible without their teachings. They forget that God His Word is infallible and indestructible, saying everything it has to say in a way that all people can understand and can have enough information according to their capabilities.

It are those theologians and church-institutions who wanted to keep their power or get more power, who adapted their teachings for the best of their institutions. Often they overlooked that for one lie an other one had to be created to have their teaching ‘soundproof’.

All denominations have their own specific worship-houses or church-buildings. – Greek orthodox churches.

Why are there so many denominations? This is the question asked in a Bible study book called God’s Answers to Man’s Questions (p. 178). The answer given? “Each is probably like a variety of fruit and it takes many varieties to make an orchard. (Many spokes to make a wheel.) Christ’s desire is that the Church on earth should be clean, glorious and holy, Eph. 5:27. ‘That He might present it (the Church) to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it (you and I) should be holy and without blemish.’”

This is all there is to his answer. Did he answer it? Yes, I suppose you can say he did. Is his answer adequate or, better yet, biblical? It is not. The Bible passage he referenced is certainly biblical, but it does not support the contention of the…

“(For the choir director. A Psalm of David.) The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” (Psalms 19:1 NAS)

“1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:1-3 NAS)

“Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.” (Jeremiah 1:9 NAS)

“”Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” (John 14:10 NAS)

“And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17 NAS)

“He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” (Exodus 3:6 NAS)

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20 NAS)

“”Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”” (Revelation 4:11 NAS)

“2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but [by] My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3 NAS)

“13 “And you say, ’What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness? 14 ’Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.’” (Job 22:13-14 NAS)

“5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, “Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Thy glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! 6 “Thou alone art the LORD. Thou hast made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. Thou dost give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before Thee. 7 “Thou art the LORD God, Who chose Abram And brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees, And gave him the name Abraham.” (Nehemiah 9:5-7 NAS)

“7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. 8 “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. 9 “I shall take no young bull out of your house, Nor male goats out of your folds. 10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all it contains. 13 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of male goats? 14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High; 15 And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” 16 But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to tell of My statutes, And to take My covenant in your mouth? 17 “For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you.” (Psalms 50:7-17 NAS)

“11 And He gave some [as] apostles, and some [as] prophets, and some [as] evangelists, and some [as] pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;” (Ephesians 4:11-14 NAS)

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1 NAS)

“9 but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND [which] HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” 10 For to us God revealed [them] through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NAS)

“14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NAS)

“Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him?” (Isaiah 40:13 NAS)

“5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 [to be specific], that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” (Ephesians 3:5-6 NAS)

“that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and [attaining] to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, [resulting] in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, [that is,] Christ [Himself],” (Colossians 2:2 NAS)

“Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.” (Proverbs 23:9 NAS)

“1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, And the man who was raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel, 2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:1-2 NAS)

“”Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” (Acts 1:16 NAS)

“And when they did not agree with one another, they [began] leaving after Paul had spoken one [parting] word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,” (Acts 28:25 NAS)

“seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.” (1 Peter 1:11 NAS)

“20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NAS)

“”But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26 NAS)

“16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NAS)

“And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted [it] not [as] the word of men, but [for] what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NAS)

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4 NAS)

“Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11 NAS)

“49 Remember the word to Thy servant, In which Thou hast made me hope. 50 This is my comfort in my affliction, That Thy word has revived me.” (Psalms 119:49-50 NAS)

“7 “The beginning of wisdom [is:] Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. 8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. 9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.”” (Proverbs 4:7-9 NAS)

“The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.” (Proverbs 15:14 NAS)

“”And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”” (Matthew 13:23 NAS)

“But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14 NAS)

“And as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every [branch of] literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all [kinds of] visions and dreams.” (Daniel 1:17 NAS)

“There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:30 NAS)

“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, That you may be wise the rest of your days.” (Proverbs 19:20 NAS)

“7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. 10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus [and] with [it] eternal glory.” (2 Timothy 2:7-10 NAS)

“even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life.” (John 17:2 NAS)

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20 NAS)

“2 for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:2-4 NAS)

Accusations

The previous weeks we got very strong reactions at certain things we said about God and His son on the net and on our replies to certain writings on the net about Jesus, God and the Christadelphians.

Title page to the ASV (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On several websites we where accused of being a sect and of being God haters and/or Jesus haters. When we tried to give a polite answer with what we could find in the Bible and how we funded our believes on the Holy Scriptures we were silenced and did not get an opportunity to show where our believes came from and why they are not so stupid.

The bad language send to us, plus other negative elements like viruses and Trojan horses, made us not afraid to find other ways of giving a reply or showing people what we think, why we think it and why there is reason not to consider Christadelphians being a sect or cult.

Apostolic times and Jesus’ definition of God

At the beginning of the apostolic times the followers of Christ Jesus were considered to be a Jewish sect. Their faith was based on the classic traditional monotheist faith of the People of God, the People of Israel, the Jews. Jesus coming from an Essene, and therefore a very traditional devout Jewish family, grew up in a family where they believed in Only One God. Jesus also worshipped the God of Abraham, which was considered by the Jews the Only OneTrue God.

The Christadelphians do have the same faith as the Jews, in the Only One True God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Jesus was in perfect agreement with a Jewish scribe, as together they discussed the greatest of all questions we humans must face. Who is God?
So prepare now to hear what Jesus commands us in terms of our definition of God.

In the New testament we do find:

“24 Jesus said unto them, Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the scriptures, nor the power of God? 25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as angels in heaven. 26 But as touching the dead, that they are raised; have ye not read in the book of Moses, in [the place concerning] the Bush, how God spake unto him, saying, {1} I [am] the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? {1) Ex 3:6} 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: ye do greatly err.

28 And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all? 29 Jesus answered, The first is, {1} Hear, O Israel; {2} The Lord our God, the Lord is one: {1) De 6:4 ff 2) Or [The Lord is our God; the Lord is one]} 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God {1} with all thy heart, and {1} with all thy soul, and {1} with all thy mind, and {1} with all thy strength. {1) Gr [from]} 31 The second is this, {1} Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. {1) Le 19:18} 32 And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he:” (Mark 12:24-32 ASV)

God being the One Who is One

Excerpt of the book of Exodus from the The Great Bible (entitled The Byble in Englyshe), publ. 1540. The English form Iehovah (Jehovah as the “J” stands for both I and the later J) is used for the Tetragrammaton at Exodus 6:3. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For Jeshua or Jesus Jehovah is his God and is only one, not two or three.

Jesus also added we should love that One God with all our heart.

“And he said unto him, {1} Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. {1) De 6:5}” (Matthew 22:37 ASV)“And he answering said, {1} Thou shalt love the Lord thy God {2} with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; {3} and thy neighbor as thyself. {1) De 6:5. 2) Gr [from] 3) Le 19:18}” (Luke 10:27 ASV)

We as Christadelphians do love God and do love His creation. They want to open their heart to all people and not only just to some who belong to the same denomination as they. We also want to give attention to other minded persons and do respect them for what they think and feel. This cannot be said about those who call themselves Christians and attack us.

Jewish unitarian creed and Jesus’ creed

As we can find in the New Testament Jesus stated that God is a single Lord. He uttered the Jewish unitarian creed and made it the pinnacle of good Christian understanding and practice.

What else can we say about this One God of Jesus’ creed?

He could not possibly be the triune God of traditional Christendom. Jesus is on record as recognizing no god but the God of his Jewish heritage based on the Scriptures preserved as God’s oracles. That God was never the Trinity. Jesus was not a Trinitarian, on the plainest evidence of his testimony in Mark 12:28-34. He himself never claimed to be God and knew very well he could not do anything without his Father in heaven.

“Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner.” (John 5:19 ASV)

“I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 5:30 ASV)

God’s Will and Jesus’ will

In case Jesus is God Jesus would do his own will by doing the Will of God and nothing would be to difficult for him. But Jesus clearly tells us he was placed on this earth not to do his will but the Will of the One Who had sent Jesus and was not him but God. Jesus also submitted himself totally to the Will of God.

“For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38 ASV)

“Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that {1} I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things. {1) Or [I am] he: [and I do]}” (John 8:28 ASV)

Jesus also not speaks out of himself but brings the Word of the one Who sent him and Who commands him. We believe those words written in the scriptures which tell us about Jesus his position.

“For I spake not from myself; but the Father that sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” (John 12:49 ASV)

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works.” (John 14:10 ASV)

God’s call to be seekers and lovers of truth

God calls us to be lovers of truth and seekers of truth. Jesus let his followers know that they should search those Scriptures and belief the Words of God.

We would not like it to see our heart hardened like the one of the Pharaoh of Egypt, him refusing to believe God’s agents, Moses and Aaron. The same we would not like our ears to be deaf like the ones of the sons of the prophet Eli to be deaf to Eli’s words of warning so that they did not repent of their sin and turn back to God (1 Samuel. 2:22-25).

For us it is most important, not to follow human doctrines and as such pleasing man, but following the teachings of Jesus Christ continuing in God’s truth, continuously willing to seek truth and to endure sound doctrine, which is provided in the Holy Scriptures.

Sound doctrine

We do believe God will guide us by His Word and by the teachers he allows us to find, who will encourage us in sound doctrine and not in a teaching according our own, or the majority of man’s own desires, even when they claim to be the majority and therefore being the right ones. It is not because they belong to the most numerous denomination in Christendom, which are the Roman Catholics, that all others are the wrong ones, not keeping to the main rules and being sects.

We are convinced that anyone, including believers, pastors, church leaders and Bible scholars, can be deluded in some area of their understanding, if they are not always “lovers of the truth,” if they are not always open to criticism, to other perspectives and scholarship which may give new insights and even improve our Bible translations, which in turn may lead to the need to discard some of our pet doctrines or practices.

In fact, we can see a God-sent delusion that has infected much of the Christian Church for many of the last 1900 years in a number of very significant areas of faith and practice! We may wonder if the traditional Christian Church may not be blind to significant portions of God’s clear truth. for sure we can see lots of Christians who refuse to try to read the Bible without their known doctrine of the Trinity. Are they afraid that in case they would try to leave that doctrine away for a moment, they would loose track?

Why is it that sincere and earnest pastors seem happy to rest in their beliefs that were perhaps ingrained from Bible college or from their time in the pews? Why do so many pastors seem unwilling to read widely, to read honest critiques from Bible scholars, to read the criticisms of their opponents, to be challenged by and confront the beliefs of such ideologies as Catholicism, replacement theology, prosperity religion, materialism, paganism, and Islam, etc?

Insecurity, fear opposite confidence

Is it not best to wonder why people are afraid to put their Trinity doctrine for a moment at the site to read what is really written there black on white in the Book of books. Are they so insecure or fearful to do the test of sound reasoning? Or is it a form of cowardice or fear or insecurity that prevents many from being earnest and zealous seekers after truth?

Yet are we not all cowards by nature? Are we not all fearful of standing against the tide of this world — standing against the crowd when they practice evil?

When Paul was in prison he was encouraged that many of his fellow believers gained confidence in their stand for the truth of the Gospel.

“Most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear” (Philipeans 1:14).

Each of us has different opportunities to play our part in the teaching of truth. The Church exists mainly to teach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and we take to heart Jesus’ warning that we must never be ashamed of him and his Gospel (Mark 8:38).
It is each of us individually and not our pastor or church leader who will stand before the Messiah, the righteous Judge, and have our heart searched on these matters.

Which leader to follow

Christadelphians do not have one specific worldly leader or organisation which we all have to follow. We do not have to be obedient to an overall organisation or church institution. By us no specific gifts or tenths (teeting) obligated. So how can it be certain people accuse us of being a sect, where this are all elements particular to sects.

We do believe each individual is himself or herself responsible and shall have to be answerable before the judge Jesus Christ on his return, which he even did not know when it would be, though God knows everything.

It is therefore you and I who need to be sure regarding where we stand before God for our own peace of mind and salvation. We ourselves have to make our own choice who to follow, Jesus or those who claim to be the traditional church.

Task to help others

But we also have received the task to help others and to “Rescue those being led away to death” (Proverbs 24:10-12) Therefore we may encounter lots of discouragement but we must continue and may not falter in times of trouble. We should not fear man but more fear God and count on the strength He is willing to give us.

I think perhaps in this issue of God we have to be careful to pay close attention to the unitarian statements of Jesus.

“You, Father, are the only one who is truly God” (17:3).

Is that statement unacceptable?
Does it not obviously tell us that no one else is the true God?

Clearly Jesus being the Way to God and to life, we should focus on him, not as being the God, but as being the Way to God and being part of the Plan of God.

Once we say that Jesus is God we are counting two Gods — and that contradicts the Shema which Jesus says is the most important commandment (Mark 12:29).

Jesus learned everything from God as he grew up in wisdom and stature. If he were God he would have nothing to learn! God also tells us that He does not tell lies, is an eternal Spirit Who cannot seen by man or they would fall death, and that he cannot be tempted. Jesus was seen by many who did not fall death. Jesus also was tempted more than once. God Who knows everything and does not tell lies would not have told the truth when He is Jesus, and was been asked when he would come back and who would be seated next to him. Jesus told his disciples he did not know that and that only his Father knows that. God obviously cannot die. Jesus did die. The Son of God died. This is one of the special elements of our faith or a core element of the Christian faith.

All those facets we should tell others and help them to see what is written in the Bible about Jesus and the Plan of God.

Having no opportunity to explain this and to go deeper into detail, we were confronted with that censorship and saw the necessity to explain this more to the general public.

Therefore we started looking for an other means to show how Christadelphians next to the Word of God put their focus on that NazarenemanJesus Christ, who we believe to be our saviour and example to follow.

Spokesmen for Jesus

Looking on the internet for means to help others to come to see who Jesus really is and what is really written in the Bible, we tried out some blogging systems.

Both do have some negative points and made us not satisfied. Therefore we went back to a well known source. Once more we decided to go for WordPress and created last but not least the site with the focus all on Jesus Christ our Messiah, a “Messiah for all“.

We invite you to come and have a look at those site and to give your impression, so that we can work on it and improve.

We do hope we can show the world why we need to follow Jesus Christ of Nazareth and how Christadelphians do that, and as such should also been seen as true followers of Christ or real Christians and not as a sect or cult because they do not follow any human worldly leader nor institution of this world.

Related articles

Rule and Reign (activeinspiration.wordpress.com)
As reported in the news these days we hear Christians are persecuted at all time highs. Maybe its because perfect love from God our Father that we share with the world is seen as weakness to the world of nonbelievers.

Stand Tall In Faith (mylordmyfriend.com)
Jesus answered Peters confession, “That Jesus is the Christ, and the Son of The living God”Matthew 16 verse 16: Jesus declares that upon that Confession, the He is The Christ, He will build His Church.That is the concrete slab of faith, what Jesus came to do and what He did through the Cross. One of the statements of faith, that was established, by the forefathers, to counteract, heresies and mysticism which tried to wrongly attach themselves to the Truth, about Christ Jesus was.

Charles Spurgeon (rulookingforjesus.wordpress.com)
It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not come forth without his Father’s permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He was sent of the Father, that he might be the Saviour of men.

Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (emmanuelchatham.typepad.com)
Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Scripture of the Day, 2/5 (sowegalive.com)
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Daily prayer (0: have a free day (0: (hmweimar.wordpress.com)
Lord- thank you for always giving us a way to salvation and peace. Thank you for the grace you cover our lives with and thank you Lord God for your son. In his holy name amen
Believe and make it so

Monday, 26 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (First Reading) (petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com)
I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you received through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of bashfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in labouring for the Gospel with the strength of God.
+
From Paul, servant of God, Apostle of Christ Jesus, at the service of God’s chosen people, so that they may believe and reach the knowledge of truth and godliness. The eternal life we are waiting for was promised from the very beginning by God who never lies, and as the appointed time had come, He made it known through the message entrusted to me by a command of God, our Saviour.

Too often people are much more afraid of human beings instead of God. Too often they forget there is been provided a safe haven by the Most HighDivine Creator. We should be aware that Adonai is not just a god, like Pharao, Moses and Jesus also are called gods, but that we should come by the wayJesus opened for us to the One and OnlyGod of gods, Who made heaven and earth but also made us. And we are His, and as His people, the flock in His pasture (Psalms 100:3) we should find comfort in the knowledge that He is willing to Guide us and to Protect us. that we also shall come to understand that the lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:11,17)

Only the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jesus and of Israel, is God in Israel, but should also be our God, wherever we may be in the world. Like Elijah, Jesus and many other prophets were His servant, and have done all these things at God His word, willing to do God His will and not theirs, we also should aim to do only God His Will and not our will nor the will of the world.

Though we always must be very careful not to rebel against Jehovah, neither fearing the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is removed from over them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not. (Numbers 14:9)

Perhaps many are against us because we do believe in the Most High? But we should not worry, those against Jehovah, the God of our fathers, may seem to have it better than us, but this is all sham, they shall not prosper.
Let us trust the Most HighElohim, HashemJehovah.

Portion of column 19 of the Psalms Scroll (Tehilim) from Qumran Cave 11. The Tetragrammaton in paleo-Hebrew can be clearly seen six times in this portion. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My horn of plenty is pressed down / One day, as promised, I’ll cast my crown / Before your throne in worship / Gathered there with all your churches

+++

Related articles

Misplaced Hope (moretolifetoday.wordpress.com)
if the brand doesn’t fulfil its promises, abandon it and try a different name.

The Unfailing Watch!!!!!! (levithetford.com)
The Lord keeps His people as a rich man keeps his treasure, as a captain keeps a city with a garrison, as a sentry keeps watch over his sovereign. None can harm those who are in such keeping. Let me put my soul into His dear hands. He never forgets us, never ceases actively to care for us, never finds Himself unable to preserve us.

Word. (sparrowsingsweetly.wordpress.com)God’s written Word directs readers to delight in the incomparable brilliance of His Living Word.

God Lifts Us Up (pureglory.net)
When words of flesh put you down, the Words of Jehovah Lifts you Up! (Psalms 110:1,2) What people meant for your evil, Jehovah Sbaoth is making for your good! (Genesis 50:20) Jehovah is causing You to Rise Today…Selah

Inspiration. Shine in Gods Light (vjministries.wordpress.com)
He shall be a light to His children. People who are not able to see thier future walk in darkness without light.But you have the light who shall guide you and lead you like He lead Israel with the pillar of fire. No more darkness no more blind curves. He shall be your light forecasting you.

In Numbers 16, tells us who Korah was, a man who died for his rebellion against Moses, and these were his descendants. One part of the family became temple gatekeepers and another the singers and the musicians in the temple. {read about the gatekeepers in 1 Chronicles 9 verse 19, and the singers and musicians in ! Chronicles 6.}.

In Psalm 46 the descendants of Korah portray the worst calamities imaginable {v3 & 4}, earth trembles, mountains topple, raging water, mountain quake. Yet with all these things they use as calamities, they proclaim {11}. ‘The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold’

The Sons of Korah’s song was about great calamities, but their faith in the God that created them, is greater than anything they had gone through or could go through.

We’re fine with the idea of God being our saviour, but we’re not always keen on the notion of letting Him transform every area of our lives. Though many people take on an other god to be their saviour, not understanding that it was that man his heavenly Father Who allowed His only begotten son to be on this world to be a saviour for mankind, between all those who tried to safe people in their lives.

Many persons may find somebody who was there to be a saviour in their life,was it a parent, a teacher, a close friend or sometimes somebody they even did not know. So many people were saved from death by drowning, or by death by a car accident or house-fire by one of their fellow citizens. They had an other human saviour than the two saviours the Bible mentions.

That man spoken of in the Gospels, Acts of apostles and letters of the apostles revealed those Words of his heavenly Father, to whom he often prayed and whom he praised like no other. One of the tasks Jesus gave was to share the love of God with others and to bring them the Gospel of the Good News.

We often emphasize sharing the gospel, but do we consider the reality of the outcome?

The apostle Paul poses this question also to the immigrant Gauls from Thrace, who gathered in the ecclesia (or church) in Galatia. For them he does not open his letter with a prayer of thanksgiving for the members of the community. In his correspondence with the Galatians, he skips the niceties and opts for a biting remark, signalling that something is drastically wrong.

“6 I am astonished that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you into the grace of Christ to a different gospel: 7 Which is not really not a gospel; but some who want to pervert the gospel of Christ are troubling you. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any gospel to you other than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have told you before, I tell you again, If anyone preaches any gospel to you other than the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9 KJV_2011)

There had been persons who were ready to be saviours for the many people of Galatia. Each member of the ecclesia was called by some one by the grace of Christ, but awfully enough many where also called to a different gospel, not that there is a different gospel, except there are some who are disturbing them and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ.

Many are trying to pervert the genuine good news of the Messiah, saying he could not do what he did when he was not the Creator himself. They minimise the act of his following the Will of God and ridicule his sacrificial offering, because God as an eternal Spirit can not die.

As a devout Jew, Paul at first also did not know very well the role of Jesus and also had misunderstood his function. Therefore he wanted protect the people from any false teaching which could dishonour the Only OneTrueGod. After he was confronted with heavenly voices he came to see the real Jesus and understand the Work of God. After Paul had seen the light he too knew the importance to bring forth the Good News that Jesus preached. He himself had also preached the gospel to the Galatians, so no wonder he was surprised they preferred to listen to false teachers who had infiltrated the community.

Instead of holding to the true teaching or even testing these teachers’ claims against the gospel message, the Galatians adopted a new, counterfeit gospel. Many of them thought they had to become Jews or had to take on a sort of Jewish faith which included the Jewish or the Roman or the Greek traditions or all those traditions which were going on at that time.
Paul interrogates the Galatians, who may have been affected by the teaching of people who wanted them to adopt Jewish legal requirements, asking, “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2–3).

The simple gospel had been cluttered by attempts to remain obedient to the law. The believers were no longer living in the Spirit. And in other communities there where also false teachers giving other functions to Christ and making his teachings interwoven with Greek thought.

Paul his warnings about false teachers is not just about the teachings of one subject, be it Jewish teaching or other. In the acts of the apostles we hear the warning for such false teachings which entered already very soon the community of followers of Christ. Those false teachings would even bring the church into a serious schism in 325 when the Roman emperor managed to get his will , having Greek-Roman culture defining the new state religion: Christendom.

From the 4° century there were not only some who were disturbing the real followers of Christ and who wanted to distort the gospel of Christ, the majority of the Christian community got poisoned by a teaching which was called to be a doctrine to be taken or otherwise you would become excluded of the community. Wanting to belong to the community the majority of people preferred to choose for the security to belong to the community of man instead of being an outsider with other ideas and not able to enjoy the festivals and pagan festivals or going to meet with a very small community of real believers.

Too many people have chosen the easy way, though Christ warned that following him would not be easy. They choose following the world, being of the world, instead of being of God, following His son and God His will.

Those who preach have to warn people for that dilemma. The listeners as well as the preacher do have to make a choice. either they can enjoy the human teachings or go for the heavenly (or God given) teachings and stick to the Words of the Bible instead of the words of so called theologians.

Do we think of becoming a Christian — getting saved — as the end of the journey?

When people go out to preach the Word of God and preach the Gospel of Christ, they should teach those things which Jesus Christ believed in and taught, like the being of One God, the coming of the end-times, the coming of a resurrection of the dead, the coming of the Kingdom of God, and should show the world how Christ made it possible that the Grace of God comes to each of us, though we are all sinners, we all can be saved by the offer, the ransom of Christ Jesus, the man from Nazareth.

The reality of the gospel should affect all areas of our lives, which can now be used to give God the glory. Jesus did not wanted to be worshipped, and worshipped himself the only One God. So should we.

He says it is because of a lack of preaching of the true Word of God (1 Timothy 1 v 5).

In verse 3 Paul exhorts Timothy to speak out against people teaching a heretical message and not the true Gospel.

He is telling Timothy to ensure that the true Gospel is preached, the Gospel of grace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If he adheres to this i.e. ensures that the true Word of God is preached, he will see love (charity) displayed and will see a lack of hypocrisy (1 Timothy 1 v 5).

The opposite of teaching the Gospel of grace is teaching the law (1 Timothy 1 v 6 and 7), and from the previous verses we can see a danger of this.

Teaching law (or not the true Gospel for new covenant believers) will results in hypocrisy and a lack of love; that is a powerful truth.

Paul commands Timothy to ensure that no other doctrine, other than the grace of Jesus, is preached in the church.

Don’t Be Ashamed (kristiankennedy.wordpress.com)
Are you afraid or ashamed to share the message of Jesus Christ? As believers, we are to share the message of the Gospel and the love of our Heavenly Father. Here is a verse that warns us against being ashamed of the Gospel:

Jesus’ life is a fact of history (christianmotivations.weebly.com)
The Four Gospels tell the facts of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. They are not made-up fables like the insane adventures of the Greek gods. No, the powerful miracles the apostles describe actually happened! Peter, John and Matthew were eye-witnesses to all this.

In addition, tens of thousands of people from one end of Israel to the other had met Jesus and seen His miracles. As Paul pointed out, “This thing was not done on a corner” (Acts 26:26).

My dear friends, make no mistake: the Four Gospels are accurate historical reports. Many people are making huge efforts trying to dismiss the Bible and telling people that miracles are things of the past. But we have the Bible that declares

The Simple Gospel of Jesus Christ (yelobrd777.com)
God the Father sent His son to die for us. We now have Christ living His life through us. He loves us beyond condition. “Dad ain’t mad” as Ken says at the station. We simply believe it, live it and surrender to it.

It is not complicated. No frills, no fund raising commitment card, no guilt and condemnation. Over the years I have heard time and time again about how a song or short one minute moment of encouragement has gotten someone through a trying day…or hour.

Minimizing the Cross of Jesus Christ (dailybibleplan.com)
Paul was very concerned about the Galatians. The Galatians had started to believe the Judaizers who preached that Gentiles had to become Jews before they could become Christians. They had started to impose Jewish legalism stating that works could earn God’s favor. This false gospel minimized the importance of the death of Jesus Christ by implying that justification (salvation) could be gained through works.
+
When a person thinks that “living right” can secure salvation, that person is essentially saying that Jesus did not have to die, but we know that Jesus opened the door to salvation for us. When it comes to eternal life, Christ is the only key that fits that lock.

Recent Posts from Christadelphians for you about: Messiah For All

Jewish and Christian literature since the time of Yeshua or Jeshua have pointed to Genesis 3:15 as the first reference to the Messiah in the Torah. Genesis 3:15 NHEBJE I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his […]

The first human beings had chosen to go their own path. As any good father would do when his children had done something wrong, God punished them. But as a loving Father He in His great mercy promised for a solution and preserved David’s bloodline and the Messianic promise. Mankind had chosen Yet, we each […]

Do you know where in the Bible we find God‘s first promise to send the Messiah? The answer is foundational to our faith because within this first Messianic Prophecy mentioned in the Bible lies our fate of eternal separation from God. Too many christians limit the Bible to the second main part, the Messianic Writings, […]

The Divine Creator of heaven and earth wished not to leave the ones sent out of the Garden of Eden on their own. Though Adam and Eve rebelled against God, Him having expelled them, the Elohim was willing to stay close to them and to help there where He could or where it was appropriate […]

Those people coming from the first man and woman in a certain way got infected by the wrong choice these people made. God gave a free will to the human beings He created. He did not want them to go wrong or to have it bad, but because they objected to His ruling or His […]

PSALMS -1-23-24-48-100-3 – 121 Blessed is the Man that walketh not in the Council of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, But his delight is in the law of ~YAHWEH~ and in HIS law doth he meditate day and night. ##———–PSALM 2:6 _____ 6 […]

##### —– II KINGS 2:9-13 ELIJA and ELISHA PARTING 2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. […]

####—DEUTERONOMY 30:19 19 I call Heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love ~YAHWEH~ Thy Elohim, and that thou mayest obey HIS voice, and that thou […]

To remember from previous verses “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him; […]

. [Deuteronomy 6:4]____________ KEEP: ___________________________ THE ~COMMANDMENTS ~ ________________________ LEVITICUS 8:8 8 he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in* the breastplate the Urim [Fullness] and the Thummim. [BRIGHTNESS] *[ON] NUMBERS 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the Glory […]

From the previous verses to remember: Ex 23:22 But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. Ex 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the […]

Having looked at what false teachers may do, we must be very conscious about what for teachings we want to follow. Let the one who thinks he is standing beware that he does not fall.—1 Cor. 10:12. Jehovah gives us His powerful holy Spirit, which can strengthen us and help us to resist temptation. God also […]

Paul’s warning about false stories is in the first letter he wrote to Timothy, a Christian elder. Paul told Timothy to keep the congregation clean and to help his brothers and sisters to stay loyal to Jehovah. 1 Timothy 1:18, 19: 18 This instruction* I entrust to you, my child Timothy, in harmony with the prophecies that were made […]

Matthew 7: 13-14 {NWT}+ {Ref B.}:13 “Go in through the narrow gate,+ because broad is the gate and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are finding it.+ Luke 13:24: 24 “Exert yourselves vigorously to […]

When Jesus was alive he warned already for a time that false teachers would come along. Soon after he died, was risen and gone up in the skies to his heavenly Father several teachers found something interesting in the rabbi his teaching they could use for their own teachings. They mixed it with Roman Greek […]

MT7:21 Not everyone saying to me, ‘Master, Master!’[1] will enter the Heavenly Realm but the one doing the will[2] of my heavenly Father. MT7:22 Many will say to me in The Day:[3] ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in your name?[4] And, in your name cast out demons?[5] And, in your name did many dynamic […]

Recent Posts from Bible scholars: Bijbelvorser = Bible Researcher

Dr Hugh Houghton, of the University of Birmingham, after an Austrian colleague read about an anonymous manuscript in Cologne Cathedral Library, digitised by the University of Salzburg in 2012, in a local newspaper and told him about it. The work thought to have been copied out by a scholar in around 800, more than 400 […]

Regularly Christians are questioned about the existence of the Biblical figures, whilst those asking the questions do not doubt the existence of so many other historical figures where there is less written about and less findings discovered. Concerning the Ancient times and writings in the Hebrew Scriptures we do have archaeologic proof of 53 people […]

Jill Katz on urban anthropology in the capitals of Israel and Judah Ancient Samaria and Jerusalem had a lot in common in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C.E. Both were part of David and Solomon’s United Kingdom of Israel in the tenth century, and both became capitals when it split into the southern kingdom of […]

From the moment they were discovered, the Samaria ivories created fanfare. Recently some scholars have challenged the long-accepted assumption about the ivories’ origins. When the Samaria ivories were first excavated, they were immediately explained as Phoenician products and, therefore, considered foreign to their discovery site, Samaria. However, there is currently no archaeological evidence to indicate […]

Rupert Chapman — formerly of the British Museum, London — examines the Israelite kings’ palace at Samaria in his article “Samaria—Capital of Israel,” published in the September/October 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. In the Bible, King Ahab’s palace is called an “ivory house” (2 Kings 22:39). We know from other Biblical passages that Ahab […]

“When I was a child my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk, you’ll be the pope.’ Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” ― Pablo Picasso Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Indien hij een soldaat of monnik werd Related […]

Originally posted on Turkey File: You’d have to love your president! Saturday, 15 July, was the first anniversary of a failed attempt by some officers in the Turkish armed forces to overthrow the country’s democratically elected AK Party government. The government has planned a week of meetings and other activities to commemorate the courage of…

The last months we have seen that even by papers which had nothing against Erdoğan had also people arrested as being considered a danger for the “Islamic nation Turkey“. In that country many may have looked forward to see the the 105th Caliph rise above the stars of Europe and America. Mixed with cultural and […]

The previous months I have been very busy writing (under different names) religious articles for other websites and working on a glossary (of Jewish terms) which had normally to be published in April (but because I had not finished it yet, being postponed until later) plus working at the same time on a translation of […]

2016 seemed to be the year lots of people thought it had become really time to leave this place like it was, them not having to worry about it any-more. Alida Victoria Grubba Rudge, 113, became Brazilian supercentenarian, nation’s oldest person. Nola Ochs, 105, American centenarian, became the world’s oldest college graduate. Guyanese novelist (To […]